Galaxy S21 FE Impressions: Great Phone, Odd Price!
2022 ж. 2 Қаң.
3 604 777 Рет қаралды
All this phone for $699... Again? The Fan Edition is back.
Galaxy S21 for $599: amzn.to/3EQ5jJQ
Tech I'm using right now: www.amazon.com/shop/MKBHD
Intro Track: / 20syl
Playlist of MKBHD Intro music: goo.gl/B3AWV5
Phone provided by Samsung for video.
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/ mkbhd
/ mkbhd
/ mkbhd
1:40 Fact correction: The graphic says it's LTPO but it's actually just a straight up 120Hz display. LTPO is still reserved for the very highest-end of the high-end.
Okay
Its only in iPhone 13 pro . 🚶
Lol I was shocked when I saw they added ltpo display in there
But why did you tell iphone SE at the end? Are you aldready using the SE2?!
@@VishnuKumar-ll8ve It was in the S21 Ultra first.
FEs should be $500 maximum. Still more than the A series but still an good budget step into the S series
A series 5g cost 500
@@drodriguez1724 yep i can never spend that much for an A series. Lemme wait for s22 with that radeon gpu
wait like 3 months
Except the A series (A52) is $500 retail already? There's just no price point to put the S21 FE. It made sense when the S20 was $999 retail, but not once samsung dropped the price of the baseline phone.
I got my S21 for $479 at Costco
Ironically the high s20 prices made the s20 fe very appealing, but dropping the price for the s21 series made the s21 fe not seem like as good of a deal
It'll be on sale.. Don't be buying at full retail now lol..
the point is, people will rather buy the s21 ultra at the 1year dropped price. Unlike the previous year where there was no logical reason to buy the S20 ultra. So S20FE became very appealing.
That's called marketing, and it's making Samsung good money.
@@Ryrynz2000 so is the normal S21. The normal one is already 80€ cheaper in my country. They’ll both drop in price even more next month. Why even bother about the FE at all? You get a better deal with the S21 normal.
Nudge effect.
Funny story, after recommending an S20 FE to my boss, he bought one, and a week later dropped it in the sea. 3 hours in 4 meter deep salty water later, he recovered it, sprayed the ports down with clean water, and now it's still working perfectly fine!
Suuuuure dude
that is too awesome
How did he find it on seabed..
@@yacines7000 with diving goggles 😂
@@hananas2 suuuuuurely
I got this phone yesterday, love the looks feel and performance of this device. I have the 8bg version, the phone flys, screen looks better then my other phone iPhone 13 pro, love the plastic on the back no case needed nice not slipery texture. free earbuds . And who cares if its gonna be outdated in a month, it will still work for years to come. And and it is still less expensive the the rest of the S line, unlocked new.
Stop comparing this piece of plastic to the iPhone 13 pro lol the screen is miles ahead on iPhone.
@@liamcarrington7681 for god sake , plastic doesnt even matter, at least glass will almost insta break when u drop it a bad drop
And what about phone's battery?
@@liamcarrington7681 how do we break it down to him that iphones oled panels are mostly manufactured by samsung
@@liamcarrington7681 I can’t wait to trade in my iPhone 12 Pro for this the S21 Fe. After being an Apple fan girl for 10 years, I realized that Apple is waaaay overpriced
A fantastic phone, but I might be more excited to see the Pixel 6a in 2022!
yeah but i want an iphone fe with the same hardware as the samsung s21 fe but with ios at 699 , it would be perfect !
@@semlali06 buy iphone se at 399 bruh
@@semlali06 sorry apple wouldn't do it
This phone is for asian countries where google pixel has not launched
@@cooldude7285 Iphone se is garbage
It worked out great for me, because of their promotional free wireless headphones as well as double the trade-in value I would've normally gotten for my S10e
Yeah I'm pretty happy with my galaxy 20 fe, honestly best phone I ever bought with price, durability, performance it is a solid phone and one I'll keep for years.
Samsung dropped the ball on this one. What made the s20 FE awesome was that it performed as good as the S20 and plus even though it was cheaper. This phone really IS oddly priced because the way the specs were described, it's inferior to the s21 lineup, and it released too late: the prices of the s21 lineup are now down to 699 (maybe less) range.
I do appreciate that it’s LTPO 120hz but the Pixel 6 is still a way better value.
@@allenmobley8444 pixel 6 has a inferiority performing chip even though it has some AI capabilities but when it comes to raw performance it’s meh compared to snapdragons
@@shivamandadapu9739 its not all about raw performance though
s21 FE has nothing worth owning ,samsung should of released a battery edition of last years flagship instead so the camera bump is near flush or gone but the phone lasts 2 days
@@RealSavage7 s21 ultra for sure coz it’s a fully spec bumped flagship s21fe is even inferior compared to s21
You can understand why they wanted to price it more than the Pixel 6 given it has a better display, telephoto lens and arguably a better SoC in raw performance but in reality it should have been $549. At $699 there is no reason you should really buy this over an S21 and with the S22 right round the corner I’d wanna hold out and see what that has to offer first. Still it looks to be a good phone but as the man says, odd price.
I get where you're coming from, in terms of the better display and telephoto than the pixel, but I'll take stock android with pixel exclusive features over slightly better Samsung hardware at the same price any day of the week. Then again, I'm probably not the average person.
@@northerngaming8287 Samsung fans tend care more about the hardware .The logic behind it is that the bugs and UI issues can be fixed with updates but the hardware you are stuck with as long as you use the phone. On the other hand the S21 FE makes no sense at all , when the s22 drops the s21 prices will drop like a brick.
but pixel 6 has way better cameras and software experience..and adding to that is is 150 dollars cheaper too...and more no of years of software updates too ....!!! so it's no brainer to choose pixel
@@Sen5325 As a Samsung fan I disagree. We do care more about the hardware. But yeah there will be some people who will care about the UI more but I am not one of them
@@jayaprakash-oi4qd The huge borders on the pixel 6 is a deal breaker for me. People usually put case on them which makes the already huge borders even bigger. Idk why they did that. Plus samsung has DEX which I love.
As always excellent video. I have the S21 ultra but yet and still I like to maintain a little knowledge on other phones in the series and even other phones from different brands that I don't buy just for the technical knowledge.. Your video was both informative and interesting, interesting, keep it up.. You have a friend in Columbus Ohio!
I love how you put one of my favorite other KZheadrs and KZhead channels on for the screen showcase 😌😌😌 Donut media makes amazing educational car videos and it's all really premium content 🔥🔥🔥.
Pricing it for 700 when you can easily get a S21 and even S21+ (non FE) for less or around the same price is pretty confusing.
@Instagram User shame on you
Exactly!
Should’ve sold this phone for 599 or 549, or at least 649$
yup! i even found an S21 ultra mint condition on Mercari and Swappa for around $750-800. The S21 FE should have never been priced more than $500.
@Instagram User You're trash too, My content is better!
I honestly think Samsung should have skipped this version! Start fresh with an S22 FE later on in the year.
Already put in the effort with this, might as well release, times nicely against the Pixel 6 as well..
@@Ryrynz2000 Yeah I'm betting they had the parts/orders in and ran into delays and other hiccups, and it being so late now...it seems like they're trying to cut their losses and push it out at this higher than expected price to try and make up for the resources used to produce it. Seems like a last ditch effort to make profit or break even if you ask me. S22 series incoming.
@@Shoeboxcat7 just trying their luck.. Will be on sale around the time the S22 is released. Important thing is the phone is good.. Which it should be given its basically a one year old device almost.. Good thing is.. Software and feature stability out of the box!
@@Ryrynz2000 Agreed, it's a win for the consumer either way. The refurbished price of the S21 series is likely to drop as well.
100% agree with you, or at least drop the price by $100 - $150. The price makes no sense.
It's funny and a little unprofessional that whenever KZheadrs talk about iPhone they don't talk about the overpricing as much it needs to be talked about. But whenever it's a Samsung their pocket is suddenly empty and they all talking about the price. (Maybe because Apple is an American company and Samsung is a foreign company.)
Marques is very much guilty of this. Overpricing is a problem across the board, and needs to be called out regardless of company.
I pulled the trigger on this phone. Upgrading from my S9. Mainly wanted the bigger screen, bigger battery and 5G. I can live without expandable storage and a headphone jack. Plus the FE will get updates all the way up to Android 15, whereas the regular S21 only gets up to Android 14. For only $420 shipped I feel it was a good upgrade and good deal.
Hey brandon, could you share where you got that 420 bucks deal from? Not really finding it at all in that price range. Is it because of a deal with your phone provider?
@@Coltaine_ Got it on the Boost Mobile website.
lol that hilarious cause thats literally what I did. Upgraded from my S9+ and choose it over the S22 and S21 because of the bigger battery and it was on sale for 150 bucks off
Did the exact same. S9 battery wasn't cutting it anymore.
@@EclipseDaBossHooplah how are you guys finding the phone? Considering upgrading my s10 to this phone, or the a52s. Im curious how the s21fe is longer term?
Mkbhd intro combines light and dark mode. Nice.
Yup
Nope, dark mode only.
@@Samuel-7418 yes, very correct
ok
True.
When Marques reviews, time stands still - that clock in the background did not budge a second past 10:10 throughout his entire review. Respect.
Indeed
10+10=20, huh! Nice observation
Maybe he didn’t change the batteries lol
*respect*
Maybe there is no battery in the clock, lol.
I really want you to do a second video of this phone. This phone is nice and it's literally the perfect size screen. The finger print reader actually worked really well even when my hand was extremely shriveled from washing dishes. Lastly, yes the price may be a little on the high side, but most people will never pay that regular price. I traded in my regular s20, and got the s21 fe for free as an upgrade. Great deal. I think you should show off the colors too. The olive green is fire 🔥.
I just got it for $596 CAD. I just hate how it doesn't have a headphone jack.
Must have been a giant dish
@@user-qy6tu9ip9v SAME this is why i’m contemplating on getting it tbh.
I got my for $100 off brand new
@@ItsBuuildit's on offer rn is it worth it?
In europe, the s21 5g with 256GB of storage and 8GB of ram is equally priced as the s21 FE 5G that also has 256GB/8GB. The big difference here is that the s21 FE has a bigger screen and also a snapdragon processor instead of the exynos one, which makes the phone superior this way. The only negative might be that the camera is potentially less good for the FE, but that seems like a good tradeoff for me personally.
EXACTLY... I'm wondering S21 FE vs S21+... Around the same price. S21+ has 2GB more RAM but yes... Like you said the FE has SD instead of Exynos!! If we didn't have Exynos here then I'd probably jump for the S21+. But I could get the S21 FE for 599€ at the moment!!! Or 669€ for the 8/256 model! It's tempting. I will do some more research/thinking and maybe wait for even further deals. We'll see. Currently using S9+ and would like to stay in the Samsung camp! iPhone 13 Mini is tempting too!
are you sure it's the snapdragon one? The s20 fe in my region had the snapdragon chip, but now with s21 fe it has the exynos 2100. The main reason I don't want to upgrade is because it's exynos.
@@FyreTeGo Yes, the S21 FE definitely has SD888 in my country. Currently using S9+ which has Exynos 9810. Exynos isn't bad though... it's just fine in my experience/opinion. SD might be marginally better but the 888 has some temperature issues as well... I've heard. But there's no need to upgrade from s20 to s21.
@@FyreTeGo in india as well s21 fe has exynos, but they are not showing it on the features portion of the phone on amazon probably because they are trying to hide it. s 20 fe became popular because of snapdragon processor
@@arungupta3838 exynos always fails in comparison to snapdragon. We're paying the same price for less performance, pathetic. Samsung should review their management, they think saving money is worth their customer's loyalty. Last time I buy their phones until they change things up.
This phone is built very well for its price but the chip shortage made them release it very late. s20FE released in september, so it had a lot of time to drop in price before s21 released and was arguably a better phone than s20.
Especially for the people in the UK (and other places) where it was a Snapdragon on the FE and exynos in the s line Meant the FE camera and performance beat s20 in the UK
The s20 fe is probably still better than the 21 fe too. It has a micro SD slot, a more efficient processor and is much cheaper in price.
@@user-bp1be1yg2h Not sure I know anyone who still uses a micro sd, hmm but idk maybe those people are out there
Let’s go Brandon!
@@italkgory99 people who have budget phones or the S10 line or 20 line
Fascinating how your design team managed to nail the noise effect in the new intro. Usually that stuff ruins the video quality when uploaded to youtube. But here, it looks spot on! Kudos to the designers!
Meh... not that fascinating... it's MKBHD... it's like being surprised at Superman picking up a car.
Old intro was much better
For some reason I didn't like it at all. It feels unfinished to me as if the melody was longer and cut short at the last minute. Or maybe it's because the intro feels too short ? Not sure. To each their own I guess I don't mind it that much but it certainly felt less refined that the last intro to me.
@@Young_Dab stfu
Horrible.. Guys go get the Pixel 6 or iPhone 13
Good review in both content and presentation Marques, thanks!!
Nice to know this is definitely what I'm gonna get. Solid camera, good ram, and responsive screen is really all I need in a phone
Yo did you get the phone and how is it?
69 likes
ram is ram
@@ototurmanidze5578 thas what I'm sayin
Good battery?
I think that Samsung will use this price as a; “Hey, this is what it costs.” But - have a TON of “massive” discounts on it when in reality they’re selling it at what it actually costs.
In a few months it will goes as low as $499 I guess
A lot of companies do that.
Samsung phones are highly discounted. When the flip 3 came out within a couple of days boost discounted the price by $400. They also do that with the Fe and S21
@@emdotrod not even in a few months. In a month. Once the s22 series shows up, this phone will be nonexistent unless Samsung decides to increase the price from last year's flagships.
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from ?
The main stand out for the s20 FE for me were the flagship specs plus the expandable storage option. The 21 FE just blends into the Samsung catalog with nothing noteworthy between it and the s21 but price and now due to the delayed launch, that is going to get chewed up. Do the specs beat the likes of Motorola and one plus, sure. But the key difference was the sd card slot for the last gen. Now that's gone and what you're getting is a cheap phone that could be cheaper, because who runs a naked phone these days? It would be worth it to me at 499. Like others said. You can get an s21 at 599.
But the S20 lineup also had SD card ...
motorola is the first phone to have a SD 898...
I did get an S21 256GB option for $600 on Prime day. It was a good deal.
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
@@reheapification2 danm
Yo no one talking about how good the new intro is? Good stuff studio
Been looking at reviews on this cell all day. Just cause. Lol Not one subscription to a review channel until you. Brilliant. Thank you. I review everything before deciding. Excellent.
Technically Samsung has released 3 fan editions. They first released the Note FE in 2017 after they recalled the exploding Note7. They also released the S20 FE in 2020. Now we have S21 FE.
They have a s7 fe as well so this is the 4th
@@Hyper3nigma well that was a tablet, so it’s kinda on the table
And don't forget this is just a rebranded Lite edition, which the s10 had
@@molibianco which is a rebranding of neo series, if anyone remembers the s3/note 3 days
They have galaxy tab s7 FE aswell
2 things I like about the SE series: the optical fingerprint scanner is known to withstand cracks on the screen better than ultrasonic (my s10 sensor is useless with the screen cracked); the plastic body feels like it is more durable (probably psychological factor but hey nokia 3310 was plastic lol) and being lighter means the hands can grip easier. Those feel like dumb preferences but for people on tight budgets, durability is a must. I am still holding strong to the s10 but the FE family is my go to if something bad happens.
I am surprised by how well my S10e is homding up after two and a half years My previous phones had already lost quite a lot of battery life and performance at this stage
@@samuelschonenberger My S10 Plus is also performing well except the battery. Hoping to replace it as the official one costs around 20 dollars in India including labour charges.
I changed an s10+ with an s20 fe. The FE is not as good. The screen is worse in every way except for the 120 hz refresh. The vibration motor is worse. The fingerprint sensor is worse. Also the sound. Also it has stupid software glitches, unlike the s10+
agree about the plastic body. i've been using a pixel 4a 5g for well over a year now and dropped it like dozens of times and it is still going strong. i'd even argue that for clumsy people like me, plastic back are more superior than glass backs in terms of durability, even though the feel might not be as "premium"
@@samuelschonenberger Same, my S10e is still going super strong and there's not really anything like it on the market right now.
It’s crazy how many S20fe’s we sell customers love the fact it has the update tech at half the cost. I’m pretty excited about this launch!!!
Nice review. I'm thinking of getting an S21-FE-5G for all the reasons you mention plus it's quite a bit less expensive now 👏👏👏👏
I've been using it for a couple of months now every thing is fine except the battery life 💀
i just got mine day be4 yesterday but its the exynos variant ..
There is a second hand s21 fe for 350€, so should I go for it? I've been using S9+ for 4.5 years now and I would like to switch.
@@boskofilipovic1927 nah for second hand check for s22 or s22+
I bought my S21 FE brand new for 460€ and that is a total steal. At 460€? You couldn't wish for a better phone.
I use S20 FE, got it from your recommendation. Great phone, just slightly weaker battery than i wanted, but overall a really good phone especially the camera. To me the S21 FE has nothing that stands out (olive color looks slick though). And yes i agree, i think the pricing and timing of this new phone seems... Wrong? Releasing it right before S22 series seems very contradictory considering this flagship price range. But i was thinking that Samsung meant to release S21 FE as a late sleeper. So maybe they're releasing it this early in 2022 with this price and in 6 months or so the price will surely have dropped and as a "new 2022 phone", it will sell out well as the S20 FE and S21 are then phased out. The pricing sure does put people off, but again the S20 FE is still being sold now and it just shows how good the phone is as its price goes down. So for now the S21 FE is a bad deal considering the market landscape but if you're still interested, wait a few months and it will be a sleeper bang for the buck.
Whatever u say make u sleep at night bro
Samsung has been working on this phone for a long time but their production has been hit by the semi conductor shortage; so they want to earn their profits for the development of the phone and they didn't want to scrap to phone until s22 FE . So the best way to earn profit quickly before the s22 series comes out would be to increase the price.
How long is the battery back up ? For normal usage for s20 fe
The battery is insane, you just need to known how to use a phone :)
@@gamingguru6587 I get about 7h SOT and my battery is about 15%. I'm talking about Snapdragon version, there were problems with Exynos
That graphic designer been doin his thang with the intros since he got on the team 👌🏾
Had my s21 fe 4 about 7 months now. I love it. Great phone. Didn't really shop around, and I'm not really a tech person, but ur video really opened my eyes. Thanks. Keep the videos coming. Have a great day
And how do you enoy the camera quality Robert?. Let say, compared to the iPhone 8. Camera (for especially video) is an important argument for me at the moment. Thanks
Great review my update is in June in this Motorola phone i got has been very weirdly like the camera takes awhile to open or freeze in thanks to u i have an idea of what i want i was gonna go back to pixels but this is perfect thank u
Totally agree with you, the same thing happened in India in 2020, where S20+ was selling for 45-50k rs (~$600) in October, but then samsung launched S20 FE 4G version at the same price. This was ridiculous, why would anyone buy an FE when he can get a plus at the same price. The same thing is happening this year too
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
@@restorebrokenphone9013 You tried but... Nah not a whee bit funny. 👎
2 reasons. Flat screen and not a glass back.
@Carl Gunderson I wouldn't praise any manufacturer for using glass as a build material for a portable device.
@Carl Gunderson Your inability to understand something doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. The windows in a house are made of glass, but I don't want the entire house made of it.
Seeing donut media in an mkbhd video was awesome. Would love to see a tech+cars collaboration in the future. Between you, James and Nolan it would be a blast
I got this phone last week on a half off promotion. I had a Galaxy A50 before this so for me it's a very noticeable upgrade and It doesn't feel like a budget phone unlike the A50. The 120hz display is amazing and the most noticeable difference. I really have nothing bad to say about it, especially considering the price I got it at.
Iam also using a50 and likely to change to this phone do you recommend this and both the phone are 6.4 inches
I'm in the same situation though I'm currently writing this on my old A50. Hopefully my 21 FE arrives soon!
@@jacobheighway8258 I got my new phone
I just ordered my s21 fe upgrading from A50 aswell wanted to ask you how is the battery on the s21 fe compared to the a50.
@@filipjankoski421 Like HEAPS better! I personally don't even have to charge everyday now!
I love samsung phones I been owning almost all samsung galaxy since the galaxy s2 to the my last one the s10 and I wanna upgrade to a new model but I'm not too sure yet because they don't have the option to expand the memory anymore probably for a lot of people they don't care but for me is a big thing. Having the option to take the micro SD card off one phone and put it to another phone and have all your photos and videos without worrying of losing accounts or forgetting passwords .
Wow surprised you didn't mention that Samsung didn't include the SD card slot on this one. The S20 FE was done right unlike the S21 FE. S20 FEs are still being sold in many prepaid carriers(Verizon has it for free with a new line) and it's a great starter phone.
As a S20 FE user, it's really only good on paper. In daily use it's trash
@@zekion. what are you smoking? I've been using the S20FE without a single problem.
@Cloudy Silver buy one that's more than 5 usd lol. I never had an sd fail on me.
@Cloudy Silver I've the same micro SD card for over 5 years now xD
@Cloudy Silver I've been using micro sd cards for the past 5 years and I had no issues
It's funny to see how the situation with smartphones is sometimes quite a bit different in Europe. I'm from the Czech Republic and for a Czech user this phone is interesting for two main reasons. First, at the start of the sales Samsung is offering a significant discount if you cash in an older device (doesn't necessarily have to be a phone, it can be a smartwatch or something along those lines). Second, in Europe we don't get Snapdragon versions of the flagship Samsung phones but the Fan Edition is an exception to this rule and we get it with Snapdragon which can be interesting for those who care.
s21fe is in a great position now.with great offers and pixel 6 plagued by software issues and no s22fe,it's the best of it's price range.just got mine when had a hundred off on amazon.i recommend everyone shopping in that price range to consider it an option.
Yeah, I'm about to pull the trigger and buy this! It's $450 now where I live with free shipping (directly from Samsung). I haven't heard of big issues about the phone so I hope it will serve me fine for the next few years.
Really love your videos and reviews marques. Please keep them coming. Regards from ireland Patrick Brazil.
If Samsung lowered the price to 550 or 599 in all regions then they would hit in the midrange market with those specs, But 699 is far to much for a device with lower end specs.
That Intro so simple , so 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great phone especially since I was able to get it for 350 from Verizon, definitely a price cut since S22 is hitting the shelves well tomorrow. I upgraded from the S10E so this phone is a big change and Samsung does make some beautiful screens. 😍
I have an s20 fe and wasn't planning on getting a replacement till this one bites the dust but, when adding a line to my plan they are offering to just do a straight trade in so I might go for it
no sd card support so its a waste
Great, honest review! Thank u!
My man Nolan from Donut featuring at 2:02 in an MKBHD video was the unexpected crossover I didn't think I needed.
The main benefit of the S21 fe is bringing the SD 888 to more international markets that usually get the exynos version
Exactly. This was the reason I got the s20 fe last year.
Unoptimized processor with the same battery size. This just means the phone will drain even faster.
@@perspectiveflip US markets always get SD variants which is really important for sideloading apps like Google camera
@@Vt0702 Google camera works perfectly fine even on exynos s21... it's not 2018 anymore
In my region it still gets a crappy 2100. Would rather wait for an S22 or a Xiaomi 12 Pro
Got this phone recently and I'm pretty happy with it. Can't fine much to complain, other than the less than impressive battery. Fun fact, where I'm from they haven't drop the price of the s21. They did, right before they launched the s22. But today all shops sell you the s21 and the s22 at the same price. Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense. So got the fe, and with the discount this one did have, and trade in, I got it unlocked for like 300 bucks. Also we don't have pixels here. Cheap phone options are pretty much Motorola and xiaomi. So outside of the US the story is very different.
That fresh intro animation 🔥🔥🔥
imagine if instead of a FE phone they release a battery edition phone ,the battery is as thick as the camera bump so the camera is flush and the battery is a massive 6000 +mah
What are you guys doing with your phones that warrants such a huge battery?
@@hibernative silly question
I've got the S21. It's my first phone without a headphone jack... I've had it for 3 months, and it does irritate me not having that. The lack of expandable storage is an irritant, but I can live a bit more. Don't like it, but I'm getting around it. This FE doesn't make any sense with the non-FE the same price.
Doesn't it come with USB type of headphones like the s20?
I hate that companies do stupid things like this. But no doubt it'll sell, and Samsung will make money reusing some old shit that was getting outdated and losing value. But yes. This phone is useless. Makes 1000% sense to go for the regular S21 over this.
Expandable storage> headphone jack
@@RealityClubX not entirely, the normal s21 doesn’t have great battery life, so for a few people, they will go for this instead
@Joe Google phones always have some flaw. The reviewers always give it great reviews, but they are mediocre. If someone wants a Samsung, preorder the S22 and trade in what you have. Samsung usually gives great trade in deals.
I've had 3 pixel phones and loved a couple, liked one, and with the problems the 6 is having, I'm looking elsewhere as it's time for an upgrade. I wish the 6 wasn't glitching and having so many problems bc it would be a no brainer otherwise. Now I'm thinking of going Samsung for around the same price as I'd pay for the pixel 6. After seeing this video I think I'll go with the s21 for the next year. Just hoping the battery life isn't as bad as I've heard!
Great video. No need to watch multiple views points of others due to you being succinct. Also I love your ironic statement about blinders when buying this phone. Since you are literally informing us about it pricing amongst the other phones in its tier.
Considering the fact that the S21 prices are dropping, you’d expect the FE to at least be a bit less . All the same i guess it up to Samsung executives to decide these things 😅
Sadly they removed the microSD-slot, which was present on the S20 FE. I am not willing to give up my additional 256 GB SD card, which I already own, so this would be additional storage for free. No company will ever offer a phone with such a large storage while still being affordable. One additional factor that everyone seems to ignore: When a phone dies (which happens more often than people seem to think), the data on ithe phone dies with it. No feasible chance of recovery. Except for the data I regularily copy over to the SD card. The card can just be removed from the dead phone and be read from any PC.
S21 was cheaper than S20 FE, but I still bought the S20 FE because of the sd card slot. Wish more and more LG didn't leave.
apple started it, removed the sd card slot, and charge you for the cloud storage EVERY MONTH. and once you upload your data to the cloud, you are going to pay for it for life.
@@ida529200 Lol. What card slot? IPhones never had a card slot since the first iPhone.
@@brian576 Same here, LG was the best. At least we still have Sony, hopefully they won't go the way of LG
@@ida529200 iPhones have never had an SD card slot and iCloud is optional just like how you don't have to pay for Google Drive if you don't want it
Samsung regularly offers insane trade in deals on the S21 FE for those who have a S20 FE to the point that you can snag one for under $100, and as a S20 FE user it's always tempting... but I never pull the trigger. The smaller size, longer software support, and inclusion of hardware basics like up to date gorilla glass and proximity/light sensors and a barometer are nice. But the S21 FE is just either a sidegrade or downgrade in so many areas... no SD slot, no MST for Samsung Pay, same camera hardware, worse battery life from a more power hungry processor, etc. that it's just not worth it to switch from the S20 FE.
I really agree with what are you saying, but what about now?(7months later)
I dont think so. Battery life is great on my s21 fe , no sd card slot is a shame but 128gb is enought for me , and the design diffrence is realy good , i love this phone so much
And mst doesnt really bother me as i use my debit card to pay not my phone
The price makes sense in my local market since the S21 series did not drop in price at all throughout the year, and probably won't for another couple months after the S22 comes out.
🙏🏻
U guys rock keep up the good car stuff but pls Make James to do more up to speed
Cool 😎
how are y'all here?
NOLAAAAAAAN!!!!!
I knew you guys would comment.
I've had my S20FE shortly since launch and it's been great, this is definitely a product line I will follow when it's time for me to upgrade again.
I own a S20FE since june last year, got it for 400usd. I don't see why I should upgrade to the S21FE because they're literally the same phone
Wait for S22FE
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
Same i have the S20 Fe and it has everything I need in a phone.
I won't upgrade my S20FE for awhile I like my SD Card
My S20 FE still have smooth quick performance no issue no problem work really great just like new out of the box when it come between S21 FE and S20 FE I will likely go with S20 FE for expandable memory
Same here, had it for more than a year. Still going strong!
All phones have expandable memory!!
@@chris-cy5ed not the 21 and 22 series
Was really hoping for the return of Micro SD storage expansion. Nice to see a flat screen too. But I think I'll stick with my S10 🤷♂️
Does your phone lags?
This has to be the phone that Samsung wanted to launch 2 months ago, just before the holiday season time. It’s instead a swing and a miss.
Guys, don't fall for this overpriced shiiit Go for Pixel 6 or iPhone 13
@@lllvlll1001 You talk about overpriced and then you mention iPhones? As high performance and fast they are, no machine that's almost exclusively used for email and social media should be anywhere near £1,000. Yeah, they're good, but let's be really honest here. 99.9% of consumers would do absolutely fine with a £150-£200 phone for at least 2 years. Just get a Xiaomi or something if you actually want a decent deal.
@@lllvlll1001 If you want an overpriced phone then you should buy an iPhone.
@@alexwr bro what? iphone 13 is not 1k lol
If I had 700$ spare money to buy a new phone I wouldn't get a Samsung either (and I have been a Samsung user for the last seven years). With an iphone you just get so much more for your money. But for Android users the Pixel series has become really interesting lately.
optical fingerprint scanner is a big plus in my mind. I use the s20fe5g for a year now, and the scanner works perfect and quick, even although i have a glass screen protector on the display. On my s10 with the ultrasonic scanner protectors alwas made trouble. On my friends s21 as well.
I really hope Samsung continues with the s21 camera bump It would make their phones look more distinctive and in my opinion cooler
I got this phone and so far I really enjoy this I switched from and iPhone 11 and I'm happy with the decision
As a samsung user in Australia, the FE editions are a good option if you like Samsung phones and want the snapdragon version instead of the exynos version. The price is a little high but then again I got my s20 fe really cheap when Samsung did a promotion not long after launch. Curious to see how an s21 and even the s22 exynos versions go against this s21 fe
Without the Samsung case I got the s20 fe 5g at less than 400 USD. Bought it last month
@@vinayakgupta6105 how bro??
@@ayandeeppaul1081 gst benefit. Bought from offline store. But with case its 31k without it for 27k.
I got the s20fe for free
@@brienmaybe.4415 maybe you got a gift 🎁?
The price won't make sense right now, but if it drops by 100-150 in a month or two, it might become the coolest sub-flagship phone. Pixel 6 is there to give it a tough time.
Google could give Tough competetion if it came with 888 or atleast 870 or 860 cause Tensor Sucks and Pixel's front design still needs Improvement It reminds me of the S10 Bezels from 2019 or the Iphone 11 pro 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from ?
@@adt007ad oneplus is ass though they aren’t good anymore, at that point I’d rather get the S21 FE
@@aadityamadaye2059 Tensor doesn’t suck. It’s still good enough for a lot of people, plus it’s only if you’re playing heavy graphics games on max graphics and shit where you’ll run into issues. Just play on medium graphics you’ll be fine But the pixels software is LEAGUES ahead of the S21 FE. And the pixels photos are also LEAGUES ahead of the S21 FE.
@@lifeisshrt7929 Such fanboyism...
I love your channel! My Fold 3 "folded" after a Tmobile update so I had to find a new phone. I got the 21FE in a pinch for $450 from Best Buy. Great deal and a much lighter phone.
i just bought the 8GB version straight from samsung for 650, 6GB version is 599. Some things to consider against the pixel version is the samsung desktop when you plug the usb C into HDMI. basically you can cast your screen to any monitor or tv, and then from there you can either work straight on the phone or remote into your pc/server at home. The thing i missed most was the samsung pay, i cant wait to have that back (its still in the mail and coming tomorrow) Thank you for the review, quality as always
Couple things worth mentioning - this is snapdragon 888 in more regions, so if someone didn't want to import nor wanted a exynos chip. They have an option now. Being in UK - I was torn between A52s, whole bunch of Chinese branded phones or go slightly older. There is also the benefit if Samsung keeps to their word - This will get Android 15, while Original S21's will get to Android 14....
I agree I am also in the uk I was thinking of the a52s because it has a snapdragon and I wanted a Samsung but now I might get the fe instead.
Which did you choose? I'm also weighing this up against the A52s
same, what did u choose@@okema8270
I think it'll get even Android 16, since it's 4 major OS updates and 5 years of security patches and it came with Android 12 on the release
Hey Marques thanks for your in depth take on the differences between this phone and the flagships, quite relevant as always! Could you compare the flip3 cameras with this phone in a quick comment? 2022 is here let's have a good year 🤗
I always love his videos.. cause they have products price over thumbnails
The FE is the perfect phone. My S20FE is amazing. The display is a bit too big to be handled with one hand but is amazing for content consumption. Battery life is exceptional. The plastic back is going in a 10 dollar case anyway. I can apply screen protectors more easily on the flat display. It's fast enough and has adequate camera. Idon't need anything else.
is it still worth it now and how long will it get for software updating?
@@kingofspades8637 I bought the phone few days back, the phone is amazing, on first had a bit of heat issue (as i was setting up the phone, transferring files and everything) but after that no heat issue, I am an average user, 90% of the time I don't game (so can't comment much on heating issue due to gaming). Display is awesome, plus the functionality is great. I bought 8/ 128 Gb (Exynos 2100) variant costed me about 400 USD (bought it in India). Conclusion if you have S20 FE, don't upgrade, wait for a new series if it comes in 2023. Also, on the part of software, I read Samsung released a security patch in Oct for the phone, so the first thing I did after setting up was update it and it was hazzle free, zero bugs.
I'm still rocking one, doesn't really bugs me it's stuck on android 13. I don't like splashing out on phones, just got it dirt cheap, for $80. It's been 4 yrs and battery on this thing holds up exceptionally well, even more demanding games like genshin impact run buttery smooth. The camera setup is more than satisfactory given its price. Gonna use this phone till people start to sell their s23 ultra for cheap because of lack of the newest ond greatest new OS which I don't mind.
New Year, new intro, and literally the first review of the year is of Samsung, highly excited for tech this year
Didn't see any new intro
This is NOT a Review.
That's cause he's promoting...Samsung and iPhone , even though he said he doesn't !!! But that's what he does !! Ha!!
Thought the same thing about the time of announcement as you and when I looked for my local pricing, found the S21 for super cheap, brand new and since the FE base price comes with 6GB, the base 21 is a much better deal IMO
Late to the party. Good review. Here in the UK there is one mvno carrier selling this now at £499, not £699. Some obscure sellers at Amazon are in the middle. I was keenly considering this over the A52s 5g around £298, or the A53 @ £399 with the weaker new Exynos 1280. This S21 FE 5g is worth the £100 increase over the underwhelming A53. I would have liked to see MKHD review some of the better recent Xiaomi products, maybe he has. The Poco F2 Pro and the Mi 10 Lite 5G are great (still have both) but I know the US market is not covered.
Marques -- helpful video, even if I'm watching it after my acquisition of it ... no purchase-- T-Mobile gave it away as part of their program in early '22 to get users to dump old 3G phones -- LG V20, in my case -- for a 5G unit, so it's mine for $0 ... my question: what is that interesting device you show at 5:25? I did a screen grab and zoom to be able to read "Universal Audio" on its front edge thnx for continued excellent content
The main problem with the f.e is the price tag of 700€. This is very close to the standard S21. For 70€ in plus you can get the original S21. Or, if you wait the launch of the S22, you could get S21+ for 700-750€. Either way, that phone should cost 500-550€ as it was the S20 f.e.
Ironically, I love the simplicity in design for the S21 FE. Looks good in that color too!
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from ?
Horrible.. Guys go get the Pixel 6 or iPhone 13 and your money with long term update and better performance!!
I’m currently in South Korea. The pixel isn’t available here. Getting it here is gonna be a hassle alongside paying delivery and damn taxes on it. I should save myself from that stress and get the 21FE instead
As for iPhones, I’ll never come to terms with iOS and it’s rigidity so that’s a no lol
@@lllvlll1001 Samsung has long term updates despite the fact it doesn't need them unlike Google and Apple that are light years behind especially Apple
I just bought this phone yesterday it’s a great option due to me budgeting! My favorite feature is the power sharing!! My girlfriend got the iPhone 14 Pro due to her already being with AT&T with her internet.. I love the phone so far it’s loud great features and great display! I did see quick refresh rate too I’ll use it more when going out because we do have 5G+ now
I'm looking to upgrade from my j7. Thanks for the review it was very helpful.
That price though... I finally understand why the SE 2 made so much waves when it first came out I'll probably wait and ship a Pixel 6a (if it becomes a thing)
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
I just received my s21 and am in love with it.🤩
Same i got it 2 days ago
S21 Plus here👍👍
Love the s21, just wish it had a Macrolens and expanded storage Bought it for $479 at Costco
I got the ultra and it's amazing But android 12 is buggy
How'd you like the 1080p display?
Recently got mine at 600usd ish (after conversion), as I want the bigger screen, so didnt take s21 into account and s21+ is way over my budget, its honestly really lovely and I love it on 60hz. 120 kills battery a little faster than how I would like, and doesn't really makes a difference.
And how do you enoy the camera quality Wizzy?. Let say, compared to the iPhone 8. Camera (for especially video) is an important argument for me at the moment. Thanks
@@esitoris middle of the road, nothing too fancy but nothing too bad. Photo and videos are pretty nice but, If u need high quality or good quality while having video stabilization, it would not really cut it due to the lacking in MP (12 only) I never own an iPhone so I can't say much about the comparison.
@@esitoris this is my opinion for video shooting: iPhone 13/14, esp Pro > samsung flagship > s21 Fe > old stuff like iPhone 8. Do take this with a grain of salt as I don't own most of these phones, just from what I know or seen before.
I am loving the design the square body and design is so simple and minimal
I think they're launching it to just continue the FE lineup and it could sell really well in Europe and other regions which get the Exynos version, since Snapdragon is better than S21 Ultra's Exynos.
Except here in Australia the S21 FE comes with the Exynos 2100 and at a price of $1,248...which is insane!
Atleast last time the 5G version had a Snapdragon processor here in Australia , from what I have seen so far that's not the case this time. If there is no Snapdragon processor who on earth will buy this contraption for this price ? Atleast here in Australia . Every time Samsung comes out with a phone it makes more sense to switch to an iPhone. Atleast the iPhone doesn't tank in the market for a few years in terms of resale price.
Does it even have exynos in some countries? Here in Germany it's Snapdragon only too. It's SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than a new standard S21.
What are u talking about thre is no SD Version.
Is the Exynos 2100 still considered bad? Really?
The new intro is really nice :D
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from ?
Got this in sept 2023 for 350 usd , absolutely killer phone for that price
Great video, thanks!
Something intangible about this felt like an OG MKBHD video Loved it 🙌🏻
It's an FE intro!
Do his other videos no longer feel like OG MKBHD?
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
I don't want my S20 FE to ever die, I'm on year 2 with it and no issues.
Easy 2 more years
Same my s20 Fe has been amazing for last year
Usually Samsung phones die on the 1½ year mark
@@pixels_per_inch Screens get bad thats true
@@alxnd_r6345 Not just that, total motherboard failure caused by failed UFS storage or RAM
Lmfaooo I can’t believe i wasn’t subscribed I’ve seen so many of this guys videos lmfaoo
I'm picking up my S21 FE later today. Best Buy had it on sale at $569 for the 256GB. It will do for me as I'm coming off a Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Would have still kept my Note 8 but the screen is cracked and battery needs replacing.
This reminds me a lot of the Air Pods 3, where Apple was like, "These are better than the Air Pods 2 and worse than the Air Pods Pro, so they are for someone who cares more about sound quality for a lower price." But then Marques realized that the Air Pods Pro were the same price as the Air Pods 3. A very similar situation here with the Galaxy s21 FE.
But I’d argue apples only redeeming quality that makes AirPods 3 still a must buy and essentially gives them a pass is that they’re the only “flagship” wireless earbuds that do have a open ear design, meaning it doesn’t have ear tips There’s a ton of ppl out there that hate ear tips, and I know several who do irl. Whenever you go on the market to look for earbuds, 99% of other earbuds that cost from $80-$300 (yes it’s that big) have ear tips. The only other wireless earbuds I’ve seen that don’t have ear tips are the cheapo $10-$20 ones you see at a Burlington or Ross There is a huge market for earbuds without ear tips and apple is the only one that does them so yeah because of that I think they deserve a pass
Hello friends, how are you? What country are you from?
I think this phone got delayed due to supply issues hence the awkward timing and price
Hence they should have canceled it
@@ClaxtonBay123 then how they gonna release a s22 fe?
@@mkmllrc They just release it? No company makes the same line-up every year.
@@mkmllrc Wdym, they just release it at the end of this year, S21 Fe's cancellation has nothing to do with S22 Fe's launch
@@ClaxtonBay123 wdym cancel, they already have the parts ordered so it would be a huge loss for them, hence pricing it up higher to cover the supply issue loss
Hi. Thanks for the very informative vids. Question: I am looking to update my cell from Samsung S10 to a new Samsung. What is/are your suggestions, having done this extensive research? Thanks!
What is your budget? If there is none, i would suggest get the latest samsung. Like either s23+ for more hand friendly phone or the 23 Ultra for the best camera, battery Life and cameras.
Great review dude👍